Blood Donation

This topic contains 7 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by snedger 10 years, 5 months ago.

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ghostgirl

8:32 pm
20 Nov 13
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Have a scheduled blood donation next week for the day after my scheduled fast day. Am thinking that it may be best to move my fast day forward so that I have a day back on full food loading before the donation. (It will be week two, fast day 3 for me next week).

How have people coped with fasting and blood donations?

Nika

2:39 am
21 Nov 13
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I haven’t combined them yet, but I have donated blood and fasted (just not at the same time). But what you say is the best idea I think, so

fast day -> normal day -> normal day + blood donation -> normal day.

So you’d have to throw your fast days around a bit, but you really want to give your body enough fuel around the donation to repair itself. I once didn’t and had to break off the donation because I felt faint, nauseous, cold and a lot of other unpleasant things… had to stay there for two hours because they didn’t want to let me go out on the street like that.

ghostgirl

3:05 am
21 Nov 13
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Thanks Nika, that gels with what I think would be the right approach. I always get the reminder text the day before advising that it is time to start eating well and drinking lots to prepare for the donation.

🙂 So that means a Monday fast and a Friday fast for me next week, I don’t want to stress the staff out. Just as well this diet is nice and flexible.

I think I read once that a blood donation ends up giving you a 600 odd calorie deficit for the day due to the rebuilding of blood in your body. An excellent excuse that I use on donation days to enjoy the chocolate milk and muffins they have for post donation recovery.

Nika

4:10 am
21 Nov 13
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Haha yeah that’s a great excuse! I never read something like that to be honest. I know the volume of blood comes back in a day or so if you drink enough water, but building up the red blood cells again takes a lot longer.

Anyway, good luck with the donation! 🙂

toms mantis

7:44 am
21 Nov 13
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Chocolate drink and muffins? We get a cup of tea and a biscuit! Grossly unfair I think.

Nika

8:15 am
21 Nov 13
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We have these apple cookie things… soft cookie though. With the apple sweet stuff in the center. No idea how to explain in english. And also some other kinds of cake-stuff. Then there’s any drink you want, yeah 🙂
Sometimes it sucks it’s only once every few months..

ghostgirl

9:07 am
21 Nov 13
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When I donated in the city they used to have milkshakes and party pies on offer as well as tea & coffee and biscuits. Donating in the suburbs isn’t as flash as the city (recovery food wise).

Donate plasma and you can donate every two or three weeks. 🙂 Takes a bit longer than the straight blood donation. I’ve recently changed to donating plasma instead of whole blood.

Aparently there is a big need for plasma donors. The plasma is really versatile and used in lots of different medical treatments. The red blood cells are returned to you with a saline solution and just the plasma is kept. Next time you are donating you might like to ask about it. A fasinating process.

snedger

9:16 am
21 Nov 13
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The thing about blood doning is that every one reacts differently and for me at least, no two sessions are the same.
I think that potentially anyone could faint after giving blood – just because you’ve never fainted doesn’t mean you won’t ever!
So, with that all said – my last 6 donor sessions have all coincided with fast days – I’ve (luckily?) just sailed through it. Post some of the sessions I did have a cup of tea with milk and sugar, but lately, after realising that I was not calculating how many calories I was getting from white-sweet tea and coffee my fast days are totally water only.
I do hate having to forego bourbon biscuits post donating – although they seem to be rare these days.
After giving blood I just want to get away asap. Have never felt giddy. They’ve stopped telling people to wait ten minutes, so I just spend two minutes to check that I am fully capable of standing on my own two feet and then discretely leave.
BTW I am not a very sensible person and I would not recommend fasting and blood doning on a fast day to anyone 🙂